Harq for advanced channel codes

ABSTRACT

A method ( 2200 ) and apparatus for transmitting data using low density parity check, LDPC, encoding and hybrid automatic repeat request-incremental redundancy, HARQ-IR, is disclosed. The method may comprise selecting ( 2206 ) a protograph sub-matrix from a family of protograph matrices based on one or more of an initial code rate, an information block size, a maximum retransmission count or a maximum number of redundancy versions, wherein the selected protograph sub-matrix supports HARQ-IR. A parity check matrix may be determined based on the selected protograph sub-matrix ( 2208 ). One or more data blocks may be encoded using LDPC based on the parity check matrix ( 2218 ) and the LDPC encoded data block may be transmitted ( 2220 ) to an LDPC HARQ-IR configured receiver.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. National Stage, under 35 U.S.C. § 371, ofInternational Application No. PCT/US2017/046300 filed Aug. 10, 2017,which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 62/416,504filed on Nov. 2, 2016 and U.S. provisional application No. 62/372,966filed on Aug. 10, 2016 the contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein.

BACKGROUND

Polar codes were first introduced by Erdal Arikan in “ChannelPolarization: A method for Constructing Capacity-Achieving Codes forSymmetric Binary-Input Memoryless Channels,” IEEE Transactions onInformation Theory, July 2009. Like turbo codes and low density paritycheck (LDPC) codes, polar codes are capacity achieving codes. Polarcodes are linear block codes, with low encoding and decoding complexity,a very low error floor and explicit construction schemes.

Consider a (N, K) polar code, where K is the information block lengthand N is the coded block length. Here, the value N is set as a power of2, i.e., N=2^(n) for some integer n. A generator matrix of a polar codecan be expressed by G_(N)=B_(N)F^(⊗n), where B_(N) is the bit-reversalpermutation matrix, (.)^(⊗n) denotes the n-th Kronecker power and

$F = {\begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 \\1 & 1\end{bmatrix}.}$

In an implementation of polar codes, the B_(N) may be ignored at theencoder side for simplicity and the bit-reversal operation is done atthe decoder side. FIG. 2 shows an implementation of F^(⊗3). The outputsof a polar encoder are given by x^(N)=u^(N)G_(N).

In the initial paper on polar codes, a Successive Cancellation (SC)decoding scheme was introduced. Some advanced decoding schemes weredeveloped based on SC decoding, including Successive Cancellation List(SCL) Decoding (I. Tai and A. Vardy, “List Decoding of Polar Codes,”arXiv:1206.0050v1, May 2012) and CRC-Aided SCL Decoding (K. Niu and K.Chen, “CRC-Aided Decoding of Polar Codes,” IEEE Communications letters,October 2012).

Polar codes are well structured in terms of encoding and decoding. Thedesign of a good polar code relies on the mapping of the K informationbits to the N input bits u^(N) to the polar encoder. In principle, the Kinformation bits should be put on the K best bit channels (or the mostreliable bit channels). The remaining N−K input bits, not mapped fromthe information bits, are called frozen bits, which are generally set as0. The set of the positions for frozen bits is called frozen set

.

There are multiple ways to calculate the reliability of a bit channel.For instance, Bhattacharyya bounds, Monte-Carlo estimation, fulltransition probability matrices estimation and Gaussian approximationare typical ways to calculate the reliabilities of bit channels. Theseschemes have different computation complexity and may apply to differentchannel conditions (H. Vangala, E. Viterbo and Y. Hong, “A ComparativeStudy of Polar Code Constructions for the AWGN Channel,” arXiv:1501.02473, January 2015).

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the number of bits at the output 202 of apolar encoder 200 is a power of 2 bits. For example, FIG. 2 shows 8output bits shown as X1-X8 202. This imposes a restriction on the use ofpolar codes. In practical systems, the length of a number of informationbits (K) and the coding rate (R) is pre-determined. This implies thatthe coded block length is determined as

$\frac{K}{R}.$

This number may not always be a power of 2. Hence, there may be a needfor puncturing of the output bits of a polar encoder. Puncturing is onetechnique which may be used to remove some bits to abide by the power of2 restriction. One natural way to encode K information bits at codingrate R may be to first find the smallest power of 2, which is largerthan

$\frac{K}{R}.$

Then, puncturing may be performed from that number to reach

$\frac{K}{R}.$

For instance, given K=100 bits and R=⅓, it can be calculated that thecoded block length is 300 bits. Here, a (512, 100) polar code may beused, followed by puncturing 212 bits from the outputs of the polarencoder.

There are several puncturing schemes available for polar codes. Thequasi-uniform puncturing scheme (K. Niu, K. Chen and J. Lin, “BeyondTurbo Codes: Rate-Compatible Punctured Polar Codes,” IEEE ICC 2013) andthe weight-1 column reduction scheme (R. Wang and R. Liu, “A NovelPuncturing Scheme for Polar Codes,” IEEE Communications letters,December 2014) are two typical puncturing schemes. It should be notedthat unlike turbo codes or LDPC codes, the puncturing schemes of polarcodes are related to code construction. In other words, depending onwhich bits are to be punctured from the output of polar encoder, thefrozen bits set are to be adjusted accordingly. Frozen bits may refer tobits which remain fixed, e.g. ‘0’ or ‘1’, and may be used to make amatrix square.

LDPC codes were first developed by Gallager (R. Gallager, “Low DensityParity Check Codes”, MIT Press, August 1963) and rediscovered in 1996(D. MacKay and R. Neal, “Near Shannon Limit Performance of Low DensityParity Check Codes,” Electronics Letters, July 1996). LDPC codes arelinear block codes, which may be constructed using a sparse bipartitegraph.

LDPC codes are defined by a sparse parity-check matrix. Consider a (N,K) LDPC code, where K is the information block length and N is codedblock length. Its parity check matrix is of size (N−K)×N, whose majorityelements are 0. As a linear block code, the encoding of an LDPC code isbased on its generator matrix. The decoding of LDPC codes is based on abelief propagation algorithm or a sum-product decoding.

The design of a good LDPC code relies on the design of its parity checkmatrix. One type of LDPC code constructed in a deterministic andsystematic way is called a quasi-cyclic LDPC code (QC-LDPC). See IEEEStd 802.11-2012, “Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and PhysicalLayer (PHY) specifications” for a standardized implementation of QC-LDPCcodes. A QC-LDPC code may be uniquely defined by its base matrix B withsize J×L.

$B = {\begin{bmatrix}B_{1,1} & \ldots & B_{1,L} \\\vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\B_{J,1} & \ldots & B_{J,L}\end{bmatrix}.}$

Each component in the base matrix may be a p×p circulant permutationmatrix or an all zero matrix. A positive integer value of B_(i,j)represents the circulant permutation matrix which is circularly rightshifted B_(i,j) from the p×p identity matrix. The identity matrix isindicated by B_(i,j)=0, while a negative value of B_(i,j) indicates anall zero matrix. It should be noted that N=L·p. Other ways to rightshift or permute a matrix may be provided as well. For example, each rowvector of the matrix may be rotated one element to the right relative tothe proceeding row vector.

LDPC codes are adopted in several standards and used in manycommunication systems, for example, the DVB-S2 standard for satellitetransmission of digital television, ITU-T G.hn standard, 10GBase-TEthernet system, and the Wi-Fi 802.11 standard. Unlike the cellularcommunication systems, the above systems do not support hybrid automaticrepeat request (HARQ) with incremental redundancy (HARQ-IR).

In 5G, there are a few use cases which make LDPC codes of particularuse. First, there is a use case for ultra reliable and low latency(URLLC) communications and second, for machine-type-communications(MTC).

In a communication system deployed with soft combining HARQ, incorrectlyreceived coded data blocks are often stored at the receiver rather thandiscarded, and when the re-transmitted block is received, the two blocksare combined.

There are two main methods in soft combining HARQ: chase combining (CC)and incremental redundancy (IR). In chase combining, the sameinformation is sent at every retransmission. The receiver combines thereceived bits from the first transmission and all the retransmissionsvia maximum-ratio combining.

In incremental redundancy, different information may be sent at everyretransmission. Multiple sets of coded bits are generated, eachrepresenting the same set of information bits. The retransmissiontypically uses a different set of coded bits than the previoustransmission, with different redundancy versions generated by puncturingthe encoder output. Thus, at every retransmission the receiver gainsextra information.

SUMMARY

Embodiments are disclosed for using LDPC and polar codes in cellular andother communication systems. In a first embodiment, a same polar codemay be used for successive HARQ retransmissions. In this embodiment, foreach one of the retransmissions, a lower number of information bits maybe transmitted along with or without a portion of the originaltransmission. This lower number of information bits may be structured tosatisfy the power of 2 restriction imposed on polar codes. Alternativelyor in combination, different polar code schemes may be used for each oneof the successive retransmissions.

Other embodiments disclosed herein involve LDPC codes, in particular,families of rate-compatible LDPC codes based on protographs. Protographmatrices may be used to generate parity check matrices for LDPC codes.In order to support smaller input block lengths of LDPC codes, forexample used for data retransmissions, a family of protograph matricesfrom a base protograph matrix may be generated using a matrix liftingmethod. In this way, a coding rate may be modified to achieve a higheror lower rate.

In cellular communication systems, an amount of channel resources forcertain user is limited. For example, in LTE, each user is given certainnumber of resource elements in a particular sub-frame. These resourceelements should be utilized in such a way that information bits arecommunicated using an appropriate encoding method and thus at awell-chosen data rate.

A method for transmitting data using one or more LDPC codes may compriseselecting a base graph and a lifting size. The base graph may be liftedbased on the lifting size and a sequence of bits may be encoded based onthe lifted graph. The method may comprise writing the sequence ofencoded bits into a circular buffer and transmitting a first portion ofthe sequence of encoded bits. The first portion may be selected based ona first redundancy version. A second portion of the sequence of encodedbits may also be transmitted. The second portion may be selected basedon the lifting size and a second redundancy version. The firstredundancy version and the second redundancy version may be differentredundancy versions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description,given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communicationssystem in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example wirelesstransmit/receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communicationssystem illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network(RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within thecommunications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

FIG. 1D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and afurther example CN that may be used within the communications systemillustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 shows a polar encoder having an N=8 coded block length;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of incremental freezing;

FIG. 4 illustrates retransmission schemes of incremental freezing;

FIG. 5 illustrates different polar codes used in the incrementalfreezing scheme;

FIG. 6 illustrates polar codes with a smaller block length used forretransmissions;

FIG. 7 illustrates decoding after second transmission for theincremental redundancy with reduced size polar codes hybrid automaticrepeat request scheme;

FIG. 8 illustrates decoding after third transmission for the incrementalredundancy with reduced size polar codes hybrid automatic repeat requestscheme;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example implementation of reuse of G₈ for G₄, byignoring stage 2;

FIG. 10 illustrates updated incremental freezing with diversified polarcodes hybrid automatic repeat request scheme with cyclic redundancycheck bits appended for each retransmission;

FIG. 11 illustrates updating decoding after second transmission for theincremental freezing with diversified polar codes hybrid automaticrepeat request scheme;

FIG. 12 illustrates a method for updating the incremental freezing withdiversified polar codes hybrid automatic repeat request scheme byapplying different puncturing schemes for retransmissions;

FIG. 13 illustrates updating the incremental redundancy with reducedsize polar codes hybrid automatic repeat request scheme by differentpuncturing schemes used for retransmissions;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram for polar encoding with hybrid automaticrepeat request support;

FIG. 15 illustrates structure of a code word produced based on a lowdensity parity check code;

FIG. 16 illustrates a second re-transmission using different transmittedparity bits;

FIG. 17 illustrates retransmissions in which different transmittedparity bits are selected;

FIG. 18 illustrates different retransmissions in which a differentstarting point is used in a coded block;

FIG. 19 illustrates different retransmission in which a differentstarting point from the coded block is used with some systematic bitspunctured.

FIG. 20 illustrates the low density parity check encoding processingwith hybrid automatic repeat request support;

FIG. 21 illustrates the low density parity check decoding process withhybrid automatic repeat request support; and

FIG. 22 illustrates a method for transmitting data using LDPC andHARQ-IR.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. Thecommunications system 100 may be a multiple access system that providescontent, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., tomultiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enablemultiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing ofsystem resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, thecommunications systems 100 may employ one or more channel accessmethods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA),orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tailunique-word DFT-Spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM(UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier(FBMC), and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wirelesstransmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d, a RAN104/113, a CN 106/115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108,the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciatedthat the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, basestations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102 a,102 b, 102 c, 102 d may be any type of device configured to operateand/or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d, any of which may be referred to as a“station” and/or a “STA”, may be configured to transmit and/or receivewireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobilestation, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, apager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), asmartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor,a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watchor other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, amedical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrialdevice and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devicesoperating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chaincontexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating oncommercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and 102 d may be interchangeably referred toas a UE.

The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114 aand/or a base station 114 b. Each of the base stations 114 a, 114 b maybe any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at leastone of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d to facilitate access to oneor more communication networks, such as the CN 106/115, the Internet110, and/or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations114 a, 114 b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNodeB, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a NR NodeB, a site controller,an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the basestations 114 a, 114 b are each depicted as a single element, it will beappreciated that the base stations 114 a, 114 b may include any numberof interconnected base stations and/or network elements.

The base station 114 a may be part of the RAN 104/113, which may alsoinclude other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such asa base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relaynodes, etc. The base station 114 a and/or the base station 114 b may beconfigured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals on one or morecarrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown).These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or acombination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may providecoverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that maybe relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may furtherbe divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with thebase station 114 a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in oneembodiment, the base station 114 a may include three transceivers, i.e.,one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and mayutilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example,beamforming may be used to transmit and/or receive signals in desiredspatial directions.

The base stations 114 a, 114 b may communicate with one or more of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d over an air interface 116, which may beany suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF),microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet(UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be establishedusing any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may bea multiple access system and may employ one or more channel accessschemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. Forexample, the base station 114 a in the RAN 104/113 and the WTRUs 102 a,102 b, 102 c may implement a radio technology such as Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), whichmay establish the air interface 115/116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA).WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed PacketAccess (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-SpeedDownlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed UL Packet Access(HSUPA).

In an embodiment, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS TerrestrialRadio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 usingLong Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and/orLTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

In an embodiment, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access, which mayestablish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

In an embodiment, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, thebase station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may implement LTEradio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dualconnectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs102 a, 102 b, 102 c may be characterized by multiple types of radioaccess technologies and/or transmissions sent to/from multiple types ofbase stations (e.g., a eNB and a gNB).

In other embodiments, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e.,Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperabilityfor Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1×, CDMA2000 EV-DO,Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), InterimStandard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM),Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and thelike.

The base station 114 b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B,Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitableRAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such asa place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrialfacility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and thelike. In one embodiment, the base station 114 b and the WTRUs 102 c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish awireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station114 b and the WTRUs 102 c, 102 d may implement a radio technology suchas IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Inyet another embodiment, the base station 114 b and the WTRUs 102 c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE,LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. Asshown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114 b may have a direct connection tothe Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114 b may not be required toaccess the Internet 110 via the CN 106/115.

The RAN 104/113 may be in communication with the CN 106/115, which maybe any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications,and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more ofthe WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d. The data may have varying qualityof service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughputrequirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements,reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobilityrequirements, and the like. The CN 106/115 may provide call control,billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling,Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and/or performhigh-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although notshown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104/113 and/or theCN 106/115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANsthat employ the same RAT as the RAN 104/113 or a different RAT. Forexample, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104/113, which may beutilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106/115 may also be incommunication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

The CN 106/115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c, 102 d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and/or the othernetworks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephonenetworks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks anddevices that use common communication protocols, such as thetransmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and/orthe internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite. Thenetworks 112 may include wired and/or wireless communications networksowned and/or operated by other service providers. For example, thenetworks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, whichmay employ the same RAT as the RAN 104/113 or a different RAT.

Some or all of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d in thecommunications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d may include multiple transceivers forcommunicating with different wireless networks over different wirelesslinks). For example, the WTRU 102 c shown in FIG. 1A may be configuredto communicate with the base station 114 a, which may employ acellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114 b, whichmay employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shownin FIG. 1B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120,a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126,a display/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132,a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136,and/or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated thatthe WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elementswhile remaining consistent with an embodiment.

The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purposeprocessor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in associationwith a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine,and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, dataprocessing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any otherfunctionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wirelessenvironment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120,which may be coupled to the transmit/receive element 122. While FIG. 1Bdepicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separatecomponents, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and thetransceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package orchip.

The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signalsto, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, thetransmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmitand/or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit/receiveelement 122 may be an emitter/detector configured to transmit and/orreceive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet anotherembodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured totransmit and/or receive both RF and light signals. It will beappreciated that the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured totransmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals.

Although the transmit/receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1B as asingle element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit/receiveelements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMOtechnology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two ormore transmit/receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) fortransmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that areto be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 122 and to demodulatethe signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 122. Asnoted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, thetransceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, forexample.

The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receiveuser input data from, the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/orthe display/touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) displayunit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad126, and/or the display/touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 mayaccess information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory,such as the non-removable memory 130 and/or the removable memory 132.The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storagedevice. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identitymodule (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card,and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may accessinformation from, and store data in, memory that is not physicallylocated on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (notshown).

The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and maybe configured to distribute and/or control the power to the othercomponents in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitabledevice for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 mayinclude one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd),nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion),etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which maybe configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude andlatitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In additionto, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from abase station (e.g., base stations 114 a, 114 b) and/or determine itslocation based on the timing of the signals being received from two ormore nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 mayacquire location information by way of any suitablelocation-determination method while remaining consistent with anembodiment.

The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, whichmay include one or more software and/or hardware modules that provideadditional features, functionality and/or wired or wirelessconnectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include anaccelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera(for photographs and/or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, avibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, aBluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digitalmusic player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internetbrowser, a Virtual Reality and/or Augmented Reality (VR/AR) device, anactivity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one ormore sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, anaccelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientationsensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; ageolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, amagnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and/ora humidity sensor.

The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission andreception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated withparticular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) anddownlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and/or simultaneous.The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit 139 toreduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via eitherhardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., aseparate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment,the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission andreception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated withparticular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or thedownlink (e.g., for reception)).

FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ anE-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communicationwith the CN 106.

The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c, though it will beappreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs whileremaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment,the eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c may implement MIMO technology. Thus,the eNode-B 160 a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmitwireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

Each of the eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c may be associated with aparticular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radioresource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of usersin the UL and/or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160 b, 160 c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity(MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN)gateway (or PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depictedas part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elementsmay be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162 a, 162 b, 162 cin the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. Forexample, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, bearer activation/deactivation, selecting aparticular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102 a,102 b, 102 c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control planefunction for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown)that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and/or WCDMA.

The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 cin the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route andforward user data packets to/from the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c. The SGW164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes duringinter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available forthe WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, managing and storing contexts of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, and the like.

The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access to packet-switched networks, such as theInternet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102 a, 102b, 102 c and IP-enabled devices.

The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. Forexample, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c withaccess to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitatecommunications between the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and traditionalland-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include,or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem(IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and thePSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c with access to the other networks 112, which may include otherwired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by otherservice providers.

Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, itis contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such aterminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communicationinterfaces with the communication network.

In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an AccessPoint (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated withthe AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a DistributionSystem (DS) or another type of wired/wireless network that carriestraffic in to and/or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originatesfrom outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered tothe STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSSmay be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations.Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, forexample, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP maydeliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAswithin a BSS may be considered and/or referred to as peer-to-peertraffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directlybetween) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS).In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS oran 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS)mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within orusing the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS modeof communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad-hoc” modeof communication.

When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similarmode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel,such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width(e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling.The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may beused by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certainrepresentative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with CollisionAvoidance (CSMA/CA) may be implemented, for example in in 802.11systems. For CSMA/CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, maysense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed/detectedand/or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA mayback off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any giventime in a given BSS.

High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel forcommunication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHzchannel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHzwide channel.

Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz,and/or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and/or 80 MHz, channels may beformed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may beformed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining twonon-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channelencoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide thedata into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing,and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. Thestreams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may betransmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA,the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may bereversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control(MAC).

Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. Thechannel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11n, and 802.11ac. 802.11afsupports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space(TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representativeembodiment, 802.11ah may support Meter Type Control/Machine-TypeCommunications, such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTCdevices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilitiesincluding support for (e.g., only support for) certain and/or limitedbandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery lifeabove a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channelbandwidths, such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, include achannel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primarychannel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operatingbandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primarychannel may be set and/or limited by a STA, from among all STAs inoperating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operatingmode. In the example of 802.11ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz widefor STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and/or other channel bandwidth operating modes.Carrier sensing and/or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings maydepend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel isbusy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operatingmode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands maybe considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remainsidle and may be available.

In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be usedby 802.11ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the availablefrequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the availablefrequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidthavailable for 802.11ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

FIG. 1D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NRradio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c overthe air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with theCN 115.

The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c, though it will beappreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs whileremaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 cmay each include one or more transceivers for communicating with theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment,the gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c may implement MIMO technology. For example,gNBs 180 a, 108 b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and/orreceive signals from the gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c. Thus, the gNB 180 a,for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to,and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102 a. In an embodiment,the gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c may implement carrier aggregationtechnology. For example, the gNB 180 a may transmit multiple componentcarriers to the WTRU 102 a (not shown). A subset of these componentcarriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining componentcarriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180 a,180 b, 180 c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology.For example, WTRU 102 a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB180 a and gNB 180 b (and/or gNB 180 c).

The WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may communicate with gNBs 180 a, 180 b,180 c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. Forexample, the OFDM symbol spacing and/or OFDM subcarrier spacing may varyfor different transmissions, different cells, and/or different portionsof the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c maycommunicate with gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c using subframe or transmissiontime intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containingvarying number of OFDM symbols and/or lasting varying lengths ofabsolute time).

The gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c may be configured to communicate with theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c in a standalone configuration and/or anon-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102 b, 102 c may communicate with gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c withoutalso accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c).In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may utilizeone or more of gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c as a mobility anchor point. Inthe standalone configuration, WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may communicatewith gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c using signals in an unlicensed band. In anon-standalone configuration WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may communicatewith/connect to gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c while also communicatingwith/connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c. Forexample, WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may implement DC principles tocommunicate with one or more gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c and one or moreeNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c substantially simultaneously. In thenon-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c may serve asa mobility anchor for WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and gNBs 180 a, 180 b,180 c may provide additional coverage and/or throughput for servicingWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c.

Each of the gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c may be associated with a particularcell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resourcemanagement decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the ULand/or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworkingbetween NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User PlaneFunction (UPF) 184 a, 184 b, routing of control plane informationtowards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182 a, 182 b andthe like. As shown in FIG. 1D, the gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c maycommunicate with one another over an Xn interface.

The CN 115 shown in FIG. 1D may include at least one AMF 182 a, 182 b,at least one UPF 184 a,184 b, at least one Session Management Function(SMF) 183 a, 183 b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185 a, 185 b. Whileeach of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, itwill be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/oroperated by an entity other than the CN operator.

The AMF 182 a, 182 b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180 a,180 b, 180 c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as acontrol node. For example, the AMF 182 a, 182 b may be responsible forauthenticating users of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, support fornetwork slicing (e.g., handling of different PDU sessions with differentrequirements), selecting a particular SMF 183 a, 183 b, management ofthe registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobilitymanagement, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182 a,182 b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 cbased on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c.For example, different network slices may be established for differentuse cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC)access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB)access, services for machine type communication (MTC) access, and/or thelike. The AMF 162 may provide a control plane function for switchingbetween the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radiotechnologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and/or non-3GPP accesstechnologies such as WiFi.

The SMF 183 a, 183 b may be connected to an AMF 182 a, 182 b in the CN115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183 a, 183 b may also be connected toa UPF 184 a, 184 b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183 a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184 a, 184 b and configure the routingof traffic through the UPF 184 a, 184 b. The SMF 183 a, 183 b mayperform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address,managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providingdownlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may beIP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

The UPF 184 a, 184 b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180 a,180 b, 180 c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access to packet-switched networks, suchas the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102 b, 102 c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184 b may performother functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing userplane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user planeQoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and thelike.

The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. Forexample, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway(e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as aninterface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access to the othernetworks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networksthat are owned and/or operated by other service providers. In oneembodiment, the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may be connected to a localData Network (DN) 185 a, 185 b through the UPF 184 a, 184 b via the N3interface to the UPF 184 a, 184 b and an N6 interface between the UPF184 a, 184 b and the DN 185 a, 185 b.

In view of FIGS. 1A-1D, and the corresponding description of FIGS.1A-1D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein withregard to one or more of: WTRU 102 a-d, Base Station 114 a-b, eNode-B160 a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180 a-c, AMF 182 a-ab, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183 a-b, DN 185 a-b, and/or any other device(s) describedherein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown).The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulateone or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, theemulation devices may be used to test other devices and/or to simulatenetwork and/or WTRU functions.

The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests ofother devices in a lab environment and/or in an operator networkenvironment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may performthe one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partiallyimplemented and/or deployed as part of a wired and/or wirelesscommunication network in order to test other devices within thecommunication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform theone or more, or all, functions while being temporarilyimplemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communicationnetwork. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another devicefor purposes of testing and/or may performing testing using over-the-airwireless communications.

The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, includingall, functions while not being implemented/deployed as part of a wiredand/or wireless communication network. For example, the emulationdevices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratoryand/or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and/or wirelesscommunication network in order to implement testing of one or morecomponents. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment.Direct RF coupling and/or wireless communications via RF circuitry(e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by theemulation devices to transmit and/or receive data.

Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) schemes are widely used incellular systems, for example, HSPA and LTE. These current cellularsystems are deployed with a HARQ-CC scheme or a HARQ-IR scheme for turbocodes. Since polar codes were recently developed, the usage of polarcodes in a HARQ scheme is of interest. A transmitter may simply send thesame set of encoded bits to a receiver at each retransmission, while thereceiver may combine the Log-Likelihood (LL) Ratio (LLR) or LL fromdifferent retransmissions before passing it to a normal polar decoder.The usage of polar codes in a HARQ-IR scheme is also of interest. A LLRis often used, for example in IEEE 802.11 standards, to enhance theerror correction probability of forward error correction. LLR involvesknowing a probably of a zero bit and a probability of a one bit beingcorrectly received at a receiver. This bit error rate may be thought ofas a performance of the transmission medium or channel. The error ratemay be provided to a transmitter in a cellular system through a PHY orMAC or higher level information element. Another method may be toanalyze ACK/NACK feedback at a transmitter and determine probabilitiesfor each one of a plurality of channels.

Although many communication systems, for example, IEEE 802.11 systemsadapt LDPC codes as their channel codes, those systems usually do notuse HARQ schemes due to various reasons. Hence, the usage of LDPC codesin HARQ schemes is of interest.

In a first embodiment, polar codes using HARQ is described. B. Li (B.Li, “Polar Codes for 5G,” North American School of Information Theory(NASIT), August 2015), proposes a method for using polar codes in aHARQ-IR scheme, called the Incremental Freezing HARQ scheme. Supposethat K information bits are to be transmitted at the initial coding rateR. For the purposes of illustration, it is assumed that the coded blocklength

$N = \frac{K}{R}$

is a power of 2 in the following description.

It may be that, in a first transmission, a (N, K) polar code is used.These K information bits should be mapped to the K most reliable bitchannels. In the case of a decoding failure of the first transmission, a

$( {N,\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code is used for the second transmission. It should be noted that,only

$\frac{K}{2}$

information bits are encoded in the second transmission and the other

$\frac{K}{2}$

information bits are left off. The

$\frac{K}{2}$

information bits of the first transmission should be a subset of the Koriginal information bits, which were sent via the least reliable bitchannels in the first transmission. The receiver first tries to decodethese

$\frac{K}{2}$

information bits. A soft combining scheme may be applied by averagingthe estimate of these

$\frac{K}{2}$

information bits from both the first and second transmissions. Thereceiver then tries to re-decode the other

$\frac{K}{2}$

information bits by filling in these

$\frac{K}{2}$

decoded bits.

In the case of a decoding failure of the second transmission, a

$( {N,\frac{K}{3}} )$

polar code may be used for a third transmission. In this way, only

$\frac{K}{3}$

information bits are encoded in the third transmission. These

$\frac{K}{3}$

information bits are selected from the K original information bits,which were sent via the least reliable bit channels in the first twotransmissions. The receiver first tries to decode these

$\frac{K}{3}$

information bits, then tries to decode the second retransmission byfilling part of these

$\frac{K}{3}$

decoded bits. Finally, the receiver tries to decode all the informationbits from the first transmission.

In the case of a decoding failure on the third transmission, a

$( {N,\frac{K}{4}} )$

polar code may be used in a fourth transmission. These

$\frac{K}{4}$

information bits are selected from the K original information bits,which were sent via the least reliable bit channels in the first threetransmissions.

FIG. 3 shows an example 300 where K=12 and N=16. The probability of achannel being unreliable, hereinafter denoted as ‘un-reliabilities’ 302of the bit channels, are also provided. In the first transmission 304,all the 12 information bits U₁-U₁₂ are placed on the high reliable bitchannels {4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16}. In the secondtransmission 306, 6 information bits {U₁, U₂, U₃, U₅, U₆, U₇} are placedon highly reliable bit channels {8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16}. Here, the 6information bits {U₁, U₂, U₃, U₅, U₆, U₇} are selected because they wereplaced on the less reliable bit channels in the first transmission, ascompared to the other information bits {U₇, U₈, U₉, U₁₀, U₁₁, U₁₂}. Withthe second transmission 306, the reliabilities of these 6 informationbits are increased because they are now placed on higher reliabilitychannels. The reliability information should be continuously updated andmay be referred to for further retransmission. The reliabilityinformation may be determined in part by one or more receiverstransmitting feedback to the transmitter. The feedback may be sent as abitmap and may be sent contained in a PHY or MAC control element(MAC-CE). A third transmission 308 may include information bits {U₁, U₃,U₄, U₉} sent on four highly reliable channels. A fourth transmission 310may include information bits {U₁, U₂, U₈} sent on the three mostreliable channels.

FIG. 4 illustrates an overall incremental freezing HARQ-IR scheme. Thereare different HARQ retransmission schemes of which two alternative HARQretransmission schemes are disclosed.

In one embodiment, a scheme for incremental freezing with diversifiedpolar codes (IFDPC) HARQ 400 is disclosed. As shown in FIG. 4, the samepolar code is used for all retransmissions 404-408 after the initialtransmission 402. Instead of choosing a different polar code altogether,a different number of information bits is chosen. For example, in thefirst transmission 402, K information bits 410 are chosen. In the secondtransmission 404,

$\frac{K}{2}$

bits 412 are chosen. In the third transmission 406,

$\frac{K}{3}$

information bits 414 are chosen. Lastly, in a fourth transmission 408,

$\frac{K}{4}$

information bits 416 are chosen. Due to the non-universal property ofpolar codes, certain polar codes may fit well in certain channelconditions, but not in other channel conditions. The non-universalproperty means that a code used must be tailored to accurately fit achannel in order to transmit close to capacity. It may also be desirableto introduce diversity among retransmissions as well. This may beachieved by using different polar codes for different retransmissions.Hence, the HARQ scheme is proposed and called Incremental Freezing withDiversified Polar Codes (IFDPC).

One way to diversify transmissions is to use different design SNR's of acertain code construction scheme in each transmission. For example, thepolar code used in a first transmission may be based on a certainconstruction scheme, for example, Bhattacharyya bounds. The polar codeused in the second transmission may be based on design SNR X₂ dB. Thepolar code used in the third transmission is based on design SNR X₃ dB.The polar code used in the fourth transmission is based on design SNR X₄dB, and so forth.

An alternative way to diversify transmissions is to use different codeconstruction schemes in each transmission. For example, the polar codeused in the first transmission is based on the Bhattacharyya bounds; thepolar code used in the second transmission is based on the Monte-Carloestimation. The polar code used in the third transmission is based onthe full transition probability matrices estimation, and so forth. Otheralternative polar code schemes may additionally be used in combination.

FIG. 5 illustrates a HARQ-IR scheme 500 in which the above twoalternative ways may be mixed. For example, the polar code used in thefirst transmission 502 is based on the Bhattacharyya bounds at designSNR X₁ dB; the polar code used in the second transmission 504 is basedon the Bhattacharyya bounds at design SNR X₂ dB; the polar code used inthe third transmission 506 is based on the Gaussian approximation atdesign SNR X₃ dB; the polar code used in the fourth transmission 508 isbased on the full transition probability matrices estimation at designSNR X₄ dB. A Bhattacharyya bounds estimation may be considered to be anunbiased estimation of a parametric function.

In another embodiment, a scheme for incremental redundancy with reducedsize polar codes (IRRSPC) HARQ is provided. Herein, another HARQ schemeis disclosed which is based on reduced size polar codes forretransmissions. This scheme can be considered as the mixture of chasecombining and incremental redundancy. This HARQ scheme is referred to asthe IRRSPC scheme.

As used herein, K information bits are referred to as bits to betransmitted, and the initial coding rate is referred to as R. For easeof illustration, it is assumed that the coded block length

$N = \frac{K}{R}$

is a power of 2 at this moment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a polar code transmission method 600 employing asmaller block length used in retransmissions. In the first transmission602, a (N, K) polar code is used. These K information bits are mapped tothe K most reliable bit channels. In case of decoding failure on thefirst transmission, a

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{N}{2}} )$

polar code may be used for the second transmission 604. Here, thetransmitter first selects

$\frac{K}{2}$

information bits from the K original information bits, which were sentvia the least reliable bit channels in the first transmission. These

$\frac{K}{2}$

its are encoded by a

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code, resulting in

$\frac{N}{2}$

encoded bits. In order to keep the number of transmitted bits in thesecond transmission 604 the same as that of the first transmission 602,half of the transmitted bits are also selected in the first transmission602, i.e.,

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits. Then, the

$\frac{N}{2}$

newly encoded bits from the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code and

$\frac{N}{2}$

encoded bits of the original transmission, from the (N, K) polar code,are sent in the second transmission 604, as shown. The selection of

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits from the N bits of the first transmission may have various options,for example, the first

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits, the last

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits, the middle

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits, or the interleaved

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits, etc. A third transmission 606 may include

$\frac{N}{4}$

bits and a fourth transmission 608 may include

$\frac{N}{8}$

bits.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a receiver 700. As describedherein, the operations performed by receiver 700 are referred to insteps, however, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatcertain elements of the disclosed steps may overlap with other steps orelements of the following steps may be substituted. In step a, once thereceiver 700 receives the second transmission, the receiver 700demodulates the symbols and obtains the LLR of the transmitted bits.Suppose the first half of the N transmitted bits are the outputs of the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code 702 and the second half 704 of the N transmitted bits 706 arepart of the outputs of the (N, K) polar code.

In step b, the former

$\frac{N}{2}$

LLRs 710 of the encoded bits 702 by the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code are decoded by the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

popular decoder 708 first. This results in

$\frac{K}{2}$

LLRs of the corresponding information bits. In step c, the latter

$\frac{N}{2}$

LLRs of the encoded bits 704 by the (N, K) polar code are combined withthe corresponding LLRs of the encoded bits from the first transmission706, for example, via maximum ratio combining. These combined LLRs ofthe encoded bits are passed through the polar decoder of the (N, K)polar code 712 to generate the LLRs of the K information bits 714.

In step d, the LLRs 710 of the

$\frac{K}{2}$

information bits from the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

decoder 708 are combined via combiner 716 with the corresponding LLRs718 from the (N, K) decoder 712. Then a hard decision 720 is applied onthese information bits. Decoded information bits 722 are passed to thedecoder of (N, K) polar code 712 for an improved decoding of all the Kinformation bits. There may be several iterations of step c and step d.A second hard decision 724 may be made to determine the final outputbits.

In case there is a decoding failure on the second transmission, a

$( {\frac{N}{4},\frac{K}{4}} )$

polar code may be used in the third transmission. Here, the transmitterfirst selects

$\frac{K}{4}$

information bits from the K original information bits, which were sentvia the least reliable bit channels in the first two transmissions.These

$\frac{K}{4}$

bits are encoded by a

$( {\frac{N}{4},\frac{K}{4}} )$

polar code, resulting in

$\frac{N}{4}$

encoded bits.

In order to keep the number of transmitted bits in the thirdtransmission the same as that in the previous transmissions, half of thetransmitted bits in the first transmission (i.e.,

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits) may be selected, and half of the transmitted bit in the secondtransmission (i.e.,

$\frac{N}{4}$

bits) may be selected. Then, the

$\frac{N}{4}$

newly encoded bits from the

$( {\frac{N}{4},\frac{K}{4}} )$

polar code,

$\frac{N}{4}$

encoded bits from the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code, and

$\frac{N}{2}$

encoded bits from the (N, K) polar code are sent in the thirdtransmission, as shown in FIG. 6 The selection of

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits from the N bits of the first transmission may be those not selectedin the second transmission, or other options. The selection of

$\frac{N}{4}$

bits from the second transmission may have various options, for example,the first

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits, the last

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits, the middle

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits, etc.

FIG. 8 illustrates operations performed at a receiver 800. In step a,once the receiver 800 receives a third transmission, the receiverdemodulates the symbols and obtains the LLR of the transmitted bits.Suppose, for example, the first quarter of the N transmitted bits 802are the outputs of the

$( {\frac{N}{4},\frac{K}{4}} )$

polar code, the next quarter of the transmitted bits 804 are from the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code, and the second half of the N transmitted bits 806 are fromthe (N, K) polar code.

In step b, the first

$\frac{N}{4}$

LLRs 812 of the encoded bits by the

$( {\frac{N}{4},\frac{K}{4}} )$

polar code are to be decoded by

$( {\frac{N}{4},\frac{K}{4}} )$

polar decoder 810 first. This results in

$\frac{K}{4}$

LLRs 812 of the corresponding information bits.

In step c, the second

$\frac{N}{4}$

LLRs 804 of the encoded bits by the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code are combined via combiner 820 with the corresponding LLRs ofthe encoded bits from the second transmission 822, for example, viamaximum ratio combining. These combined LLRs of the encoded bits arepassed through the decoder for the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code 818 to generate the LLRs 816 of the

$\frac{K}{2}$

information bits.

In step d, the last

$\frac{N}{2}$

LLRs 806 of the encoded bits by the (N, K) polar code are combined viacombiner 824 with the corresponding LLRs of the encoded bits from thefirst transmission 808 and 814, for example, via maximum ratiocombining. These combined LLRs of the encoded bits are passed throughthe decoder for the (N, K) polar code 826 to generate the LLRs 828 ofthe K information bits.

In step e, the LLRs 812 of the

$\frac{K}{4}$

information bits from the

$( {\frac{N}{4},\frac{K}{4}} )$

decoder 810 are combined via combiner 830 with the corresponding LLRs828, 816 from the (N, K) decoder 826 and the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

decoder 818. Then a hard decision 832 is applied on these informationbits. Then the decoded information bits from the hard decision 832 arepassed to the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar decoder 818 and the (N, K) polar decoder 826 for an improveddecoding. There may be several iterations of steps c-e.

In case of a decoding failure on the third transmission, a

$( {\frac{N}{8},\frac{K}{8}} )$

polar code may be used (not shown) in a fourth transmission. In thisembodiment, the transmitter may first select

$\frac{K}{8}$

information bits from the K original information bits, which were sentvia the least reliable bit channels in the first three transmissions.These

$( {\frac{N}{8},\frac{K}{8}} )$

bits may then be encoded by a

$\frac{K}{8}$

polar code, resulting in

$\frac{N}{8}$

encoded bits.

In order to keep the number of transmitted bits in the fourthtransmission the same as the number of bits used in previoustransmissions, half of the transmitted bits in the first transmission(i.e.,

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits), half of the transmitted bits in the second transmission (i.e.,

$\frac{N}{4}$

bits) and half of the transmitted bits in the third transmission (i.e.,

$\frac{N}{8}$

bits) may be selected, as shown in FIG. 6.

It should be noted that each one of the disclosed FIGS. 3-13, provide anexemplary method for bit allocation in each retransmission. For example,in the third transmission 606 of FIG. 6,

$\frac{N}{4}$

bits are from the

$( {\frac{N}{4},\frac{K}{4}} )$

polar code;

$\frac{N}{4}$

bits are from the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code;

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits are from the (N, K) polar code.

Other ways of bits allocation are also possible. For example, in thethird transmission,

$\frac{N}{4}$

bits from the

$( {\frac{N}{4},\frac{K}{4}} )$

polar code;

$\frac{N}{2}$

bits are from the

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code;

$\frac{N}{4}$

bits are from the (N, K) polar code. Overall, any combination of thebits allocation from different polar codes is possible.

In order to reuse some or all of the polar encoder hardware to implementthe Reduced Size Polar Codes for IRRSPC scheme, it is disclosed toignore any n stages of XOR operations within the polar encoder G_(N) toproduce

$N^{\prime} = \frac{N}{2^{n}}$

output bit from N output bits by polar encoder G_(N).

For example, generating N′=4 bits output from N=8 bits output, a polarencoder may be implemented by ignoring any n=1 stage which results inany of the following methods: the selection of [X₁, X₂, X₃, X₄] or [X₅,X₆, X₇, X₈] is to ignore the third stage; the selection of [X₁, X₃, X₅,X₇] or [X₂, X₄, X₆, X₈] is to ignore the first stage.

FIG. 9 shows a selection 900 of 4 of 8 bits. The selection of [X₁, X₂,X₅, X₆] or [X₃, X₄, X₇, X₈] to may be performed in order to ignore thesecond stage. The inputs to the polar encoder are adjusted accordingly.In this way, bits of a first stage, e.g. [X₁, X₃, X₅, X₇] or [X₂, X₄,X₆, X₈], may not be ignored. Bits of a third stage, e.g. [X₁, X₂, X₃,X₄] or [X₅, X₆, X₇, X₈] of may also not be ignored. Ignoring of bits atthe encoder side may improve simplicity at both the encoder and decoderside. The same may be said with respect to power usage at thetransmitter and receiver. Ignored bits may be determined to utilize onlybetter or best transmission channels.

In another embodiment, CRC bits are used in retransmissions. Asmentioned above, one of the advanced polar decoder algorithm is CRC(“cyclic redundancy check”)-Aided SCL decoding. According to thisdecoding algorithm, some CRC bits are set as inputs to the polar encoderas appendix to the source information bits. These CRC bits may be usedas criteria in selecting a set of decoded bits from a list ofcandidates.

In the disclosed HARQ schemes, it is not specified as to whether CRCbits are appended to the information block. In one embodiment, the CRCbits may be contained in the first transmission. However, from thereliability ranking criteria used in transmission bits reselection, itis a rational assumption that the information bits used for theretransmissions are not CRC protected. This may lead to decodingperformance degradation.

To achieve a better decoding performance with the help of CRC bits,appending the CRC bits to the information bits for each retransmissionis disclosed.

FIG. 10 shows an extension 1000 of the IFDPC HARQ scheme of FIG. 5. Asseen in FIG. 10, CRC bits 1002-1008 are appended to information bits1010-1016 before each retransmission. Since a different number ofinformation bits are transmitted at each one of the first 10118, second1020, third 1022 and fourth transmission 1024, the number of CRC bitsmay be different for each retransmission. With the CRC appended, thedecoding algorithm may be updated accordingly, as shown in FIG. 11. Asimilar CRC appending extension of the IRRSPC scheme may also beapplied.

On one hand, the CRC bits may be used to improve the performance ofpolar codes. On the other hand, they may increase the overhead of thepolar codes, leading to reduced actual coding rate. This actual codingrate reduction is significant when the length of information blocklength is small.

Consider the example shown in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, the actual codingrate of the first transmission 1018 is

$\frac{K - L_{1}}{N};$

the actual coding rate of the second transmission 1020 is

$\frac{\frac{K}{2} - L_{2}}{N};$

the actual coding rate of the third transmission 1022 is

$\frac{\frac{K}{3} - L_{3}}{N};$

and the actual coding rate of the fourth transmission 1024 is

$\frac{\frac{K}{4} - L_{4}}{N}.$

If the CRC length is kept the same in all transmissions, then the numberof information bits encoded in the retransmissions is limited, as thetotal number of bits to be encoded is reduced in each retransmission.This may reduce the performance.

Hence, it is disclosed to use a smaller CRC size for each one of theretransmissions. In one embodiment, L₁≥L₂≥L₃≥L₄. For example, L₁=24,L₂=16, L₃=8, L₄=0, or L₁=24, L₂=8, L₃=8, L₄=0. In an example where afirst transmission may employ a 32 bit CRC size, retransmissions may be,for example, L₁=32, L₂=16, L₃=8, L₄=0, or for a 16 bit CRC, L₁=16 L₂=8,L₃=8, L₄=0.

In another embodiment, puncturing schemes are used in retransmissions.As disclosed above, the number of output bits of a polar encoder isassumed to always be a power of 2. However, given a certain informationblock length and coding rate, the coded block length is in general not apower of 2. Hence, the puncturing of polar encoder output bits isperformed. There are several puncturing schemes, e.g., quasi-uniformpuncturing scheme (K. Niu, K. Chen and J. Lin, “Beyond Turbo Codes:Rate-Compatible Punctured Polar Codes,” IEEE ICC 2013), or weight-1column reduction puncturing scheme (R. Wang and R. Liu, “A NovelPuncturing Scheme for Polar Codes,” IEEE Communications letters,December 2014) etc. Each puncturing scheme may have its applicationdomain.

With HARQ retransmissions, deploying different puncturing schemes fordifferent retransmissions to increase the decoding performance viadiversity may be employed in an effort to increase transmissionredundancy.

FIG. 11 illustrates updating decoding 1100 after a second transmissionfor the IFDPC HARQ request scheme. With reference to FIG. 11, afterreceiving a transmission 1102, bits corresponding to the transmission1102 are polar decoded using an (N, K) polar decoder 1104. The LLRs 1106corresponding to the (N, K) polar decoder 1104 are combined 1108 withLLRs of a second transmission polar decoding 1110. A hard decision 1112is made and a CRC-Aided list selection 1114 is performed. The output ofthe CRC-aided list selection 1114 is fed back into the polar decoder1118 corresponding to the second transmission 1116, a hard decision ismade 1120, and a final CRC-aided list selection 1122 may be performed.

FIG. 12 illustrates an updated puncturing scheme 1200 which may beutilized in conjunction with the IFDPC HARQ scheme. The firsttransmission 1202 is associated with puncturing scheme 1 1210; thesecond transmission 1204 is associated with puncturing scheme 2, thethird transmission is associated with puncturing scheme 3 1214 and thefourth transmission 1208 is associated with puncturing scheme 4 1216. Asshown in FIG. 12, at each transmission 1202-1208 N−M bits are output.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment 1300 in which puncturing schemesemployed for the IRRSPC HARQ scheme are different. Since the outputs ofa polar encoder may have different lengths for each transmission, thecorresponding number of punctured bits may also be different. Supposethat the number of punctured bits is M_(i) for the polar code used inthe i-th transmission, then there are N−M₁ bits 1310 sent in a firsttransmission 1302, N−M₂ bits 1312-1314 sent in the second transmission1304, N/4−M₃ bits 1316-1320 sent in a third transmission 1306 and N/8−M₄bits 1316-1320 sent in a fourth transmission 1308. The

$( {\frac{N}{2},\frac{K}{2}} )$

polar code may be used and M₂ bits may be punctured for half of thecontents for the second transmission. Hence,

$M_{2} = {\frac{M_{1}}{2}.}$

Following the same logic,

$M_{i} = \frac{M_{1}}{2^{i}}$

may be used to determine a number of punctured bits for the i-thtransmission. It should be noted that other choices of M_(i) are alsopossible.

FIG. 14 illustrates a polar encoding method 1400 to support HARQ. Inparticular, FIG. 14 shows an exemplary flow diagram of a polar encodingsystem supporting HARQ. When data, for example, a transport block, isreceived 1402 from the upper layer, the CRC of the data is appended1404. The whole set of data and CRC are segmented 1406 to smallerinformation block size to fit the polar code.

Suppose the maximum number of retransmissions for certain data is fixed,say T. Then, the per code block operations 1408 have T loops. If themaximum number of retransmissions has been reached 1410, code blockconcatenation 1412 is performed. If the maximum number of retransmissionhas not been reached 1414, the loop is entered.

Within each loop, the transmitter first determines the information bitsto be encoded for this transmission 1416. The information bits to beencoded for the first transmission are generally the whole block ofinformation bits. The information bits to be encoded for the subsequentretransmissions may be a subset of the whole information block. Forexample, according to the basic Incremental Freezing HARQ scheme, halfof the information block may be encoded in the second transmission; onethird of the information block may be encoded in the third transmission;one fourth of the information block may be encoded in the fourthtransmission. By the IRRSPC HARQ scheme, half of the information blockmay be encoded in the second transmission; one fourth of the informationblock may be encoded in the third transmission; one eighth of theinformation block may be encoded in the fourth transmission. The “InfoBits Selection” block 1416 handles the above process.

Besides selecting information bits for different transmissions, thepolar code to be used for each transmission may be updated. For example,different polar codes, either of the same output length as shown in FIG.5 or of different output lengths as shown in FIG. 6, are used fordifferent transmissions. This process may be handled by the “CodeConstruction” block 1418 in FIG. 14.

It should be noted that the advanced polar decoding algorithm (CRC-AidedSCL) uses the CRC bits for the list selection among several candidatelists. To enable this decoding algorithm, CRC bits are appended 1420 tothe information bits. Since the information bits used for differenttransmissions may be different, the corresponding CRC bits may need tobe generated per transmission. The number of CRC bits generated forsubsequent transmissions may be different, as described in herein. Theprocess is handled by the “CRC Attachment” block 1420 in FIG. 14.

The “polar encoder” block 1422 may include the normal encoding process,as in FIG. 2. The resulting encoded bits may then be punctured in the“Puncturing” block 1424, with the puncturing schemes described herein.The punctured bits are saved in a buffer 1426 for transmissions. For thesake of latency reduction, the encoded bits for all the transmissionsmay be generated and saved in one shot.

It should be noted that this flow diagram also applies to chasecombining by artificially setting the maximum number of retransmissionsto be 1.

HARQ-IR for LDPC codes are now described. A family of rate-compatibleLDPC codes based on protographs, or blueprints for constructing LDPCcodes of arbitrary size is disclosed. The protograph matrices may beused to generate the parity check matrices H for LDPC codes. In thismethod, protographs and hence LDPC codes are first designed for a verylow coding rate and then used in an intelligent way to generatedifferent redundancy versions (RVs).

The steps involved in the process are described as follows.

Consider a base protograph matrix A. This may be a low code-rateprotograph, for example, the protograph matrix in (Ericsson, R1-164358,Performance Evaluation of Turbo Codes and LDPC Codes at Lower CodeRates, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #85).

Suppose this base protograph matrix A is of size P×(P+K), with eachelement being an integer value in the range of [−1,Z−1], where Z is thelifting value. The corresponding parity check matrix H is generated fromthe protograph matrix A, by expanding each element in A to a Z×Z matrixin the following way: The value of ‘−1’ represents an all zero matrix;the value of ‘0’ represents an identity matrix; other integer valuesrepresent circularly right shifted versions of the identity matrix. Itshould be noted that the parity check matrix H is of size(P·Z)×[(P+K)·Z]. This implies that the input block length is K·Z, thenumber of parity bits is P·Z, and the coding rate is

$\frac{K}{K + P}.$

As seen above, the input block length for the LDPC code from the baseprotograph matrix is K·Z. To support different, for example smaller,input block lengths of the LDPC codes, a family of protograph matricesfrom the base protograph matrix A can be generated by a matrix liftingmethod.

A protograph matrix A_(i) can be generated from the base protographmatrix A, based on an integer Z_(i), where 1≤Z_(i)≤Z. The size of A_(i)is identical to that of A, and each element of A_(i) is equal to thecorresponding element of A with modulo Z_(i). Here, if an element in Ais ‘−1’, then it is also ‘−1’ in A_(i).

Each protograph matrix A_(i) corresponds to a parity check matrix H_(i).This parity check matrix is generated by expanding each element in A_(i)to a Z_(i)×Z_(i) matrix in the same way as that for the base protographmatrix. Hence, H_(i) is of size (P·Z_(i))×[(P+K)·Z_(i)]. This impliesthat the input block length is K·Z_(i), the number of parity bits isP·Z_(i), and the coding rate is

$\frac{K}{K + P}.$

In other words, the family of protograph matrices can support variousinput block lengths, based on various values of Z_(i).

It should be noted that not every integer between 1 and Z is a goodselection for Z_(i). Some integer values are not valid for Z_(i) becausethe resulting parity check matrix H_(i) is not invertible in GF2 (Galoisfield of 2). This family of protograph matrices support the informationbits granularity of K bits, if not considering the discrete selection ofZ_(i). If further considering the discrete selection of Z_(i), then theinformation bits granularity may be a multiple of K bits. To reduce thegranularity of the information bits, some shortening scheme may beapplied. Specifically, some zero padding is added to information bits toincrease the overall size to Z_(i), for some good selection of Z_(i).

As seen above, the coding rate of the LDPC codes generated from thefamily of protograph matrices A_(i) is

$\frac{K}{K + P}.$

To support different (higher) coding rates, a subset of the protographmatrix may be used. For example, a subset matrix may be composed of thefirst p rows and the first p+K columns from a protograph matrix A_(i),for some p≤P. The resulting LDPC code may have a coding rate

$\frac{K}{K + p},$

which is higher than

$\frac{K}{K + P}.$

In many cases, the channel coding rate R is determined based on thechannel conditions. Then, the value of p may be determined such that

$\frac{K}{K + p} = {R.}$

In other words, the value of p is determined as

$\frac{K}{R} - {K.}$

With the above configurations, different input block sizes and differentcoding rates may be supported. The largest information block length isK·Z, and the smallest coding rate is

$\frac{K}{K + P}.$

Hence, The largest coded block length is (K+P)·Z.

In many communication systems, the amount of channel resources forcertain user is limited. For example, in LTE system, each user is givencertain number of resource elements (say, N_(RE)) in a sub-frame. Giventhe channel condition, the modulation order is determined as M bits persymbol and the channel coding rate is determined as R. This implies thatthe total number of coded bits to transmit in a sub-frame is N_(RE)·M.This number may be adjusted based on waveform, reference symbols,control information, for example. But, without a loss of generality, itis assumed that this is the total number of coded bits. Based on thechannel coding rate R, the proper submatrix size p may be found, suchthat

$\frac{K}{K + P} = {R.}$

For the determined value of p, if N_(RE)·M≤(K+p)·Z, then all the codedbits may be generated by a single LDPC encoding operation. Here, thelifting value Z_(i) may be selected such that (K+p)·Z_(i) is close toN_(RE)·M. If (K+p)·Z_(i) is larger than N_(RE)·M, then some puncturingoperation may be applied. The puncturing may apply to either systematicbits or parity bits. If (K+p)·Z_(i) is smaller than N_(RE)·M, then azero-padding or repetition operation may be applied. Overall, no codeblock segments are needed.

If N_(RE)·M>(K+p)·Z, then the coded bits generated by multiple LDPCencoding operations. Let C denote the number of LDPC encoding operationsto be executed, C, may be

${set} = {\lceil \frac{N_{RE} \cdot M}{( {K + p} ) \cdot Z} \rceil.}$

Next, the coded block size for each LDPC encoding operation may bedetermined. One natural way is to select the LDPC coded block size to beidentical for each segment. Hence, the lifting value Z_(i) may beselected such that (K+p)·Z_(i) is close to

$\frac{N_{RE} \cdot M}{C}.$

If (K+p)·Z_(i) is larger than

$\frac{N_{RE} \cdot M}{C},$

then some puncturing operation may be applied. If (K+p)·Z_(i) is smallerthan

$\frac{N_{RE} \cdot M}{C},$

then some zero-padding or repetition operation may be applied. It shouldbe noted that the corresponding information block size is(K+p)·Z_(i)·R−CRC_(s), where CRC_(s) is the length of CRC used for eachcode-block segment. Hence, the TBS size may be C[(K+p)·Z_(i)R−CRC_(s)]−CRC_(tb), where CRC_(tb) is the length of the CRC used forthe entire transport block.

An alternative way is to select an LDPC coded block size that is notidentical for each segment. To achieve a similar performance of thecoding gain, the LDPC code block size for each segment should not differmuch from each other. For example, two close-by lifting values Z_(i) andZ_(j) may be selected. C_(i) and C_(j) may be the number of segmentsencoded with the lifting value Z_(i) and Z_(j), respectively. Theselection of C_(i) and C_(j) satisfies C_(i)+C_(j)=C andC_(i)(K+p)Z_(i)+C_(j)(K+p)Z_(j)=N_(RE)M. It should be noted that theinformation block sizes corresponding to the lifting values Z_(i) andZ_(j) are (K+p)Z_(i)R−CRC, and (K+p)Z_(j)R−CRC, respectively. Hence, theTBS size may beC_(i)[(K+p)·Z_(i)·R−CRC_(s)]+C_(j)[(K+p)·Z_(j)·R−CRC_(s)]−CRC_(tb).

All above mentioned steps may be used to pre-compute multiple differentparity check matrices of different sizes. These matrices may be saved inmemory. As these matrices are sparse, a different method for memorymanagement may be used.

To support HARQ-IR operations, some lower coding rate R_(harq) than thecoding rate R may be used. This lower coding rate implies that somesub-matrix of a certain protograph matrix is used for the LDPC code. Forexample, a sub-matrix may be composed of the first p_(harq) rows and thefirst p_(harq)+K columns from a protograph matrix A_(i), for somep≤p_(harq)≤P, where p corresponds to the coding rate R. This sub-matrixmay be precomputed and be saved in memory. All the statements above mayapply to HARQ-IR operations by replacing p by p_(harq).

p_(harq) may be fixed as P. However, this leads to large memory usage tostore the full version of the coded bits. Usually, the value p_(harq)may be less than P, which may depend on the maximum retransmissioncount; initial code-rate; or maximum number of redundancy versionssupported by the system. This is a way to implement IR with limitedbuffer capabilities.

Suppose p_(harq) is used for HARQ-IR operations, and the encoding of thelower coding rate R_(harq) produces a codeword. If, for ease ofillustration purposes, a systematic LDPC code is used, the structure ofthe codeword may be as shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 15 illustrates a codeword1500 with information bits 1502 and parity bits 1504.

Based on the above stored entire codeword, RVs may be defined indifferent ways. In other words, the transmitted bits may be selected asa subset of the entire codeword, in different ways.

One way to define RV is to include Information/Systematic bits everytime and select different transmitted parity bits. This may be afunction of the lifting size used.

FIG. 16 illustrates a plurality of transmissions 1600. In a firsttransmission 1602 [Information bits 1604, 1 to pZ_(i) parity bits 1606]are transmitted. In a first re-transmission 1608 [Information bits 1610,pZ_(i)+1 to 2pZ_(i) parity bits 1612] are transmitted. In a secondre-transmission 1614 [Information bits 1616, 2pZ_(i)+1 to 3pZ_(i) paritybits 1618] are transmitted.

FIG. 17 illustrates a method for sending systematic bits multiple times1700, thus increasing received SNR and hence the confidence of thesystematic bits. Another way to define RV is to includeInformation/Systematic bits every time with some systematic bitspunctured, while selecting different the parity bits transmitted. Thismay be function of the lifting size used. For example, in firsttransmission 1702 [Information bits 1704 with X bits 1706 punctured, 1to pZ_(i)+X parity bits 1708] are transmitted. In a firstre-transmission 1710 [Information bits 1712 with X bits 1714 punctured,pZ_(i)+X+1 to 2pZ_(i)+2X parity bits 1716] are transmitted. In a secondre-transmission 1718 [Information bits 1720 with X bits 1722 punctured,2pZ_(i)+2X+1 to 3pZ_(i)+3X parity bits 1724] are transmitted. This isone exemplary way to define a RV scheme.

FIG. 18 illustrates a method 1800 for using a different starting pointfrom the coded block. In a first transmission 1802 [1, . . . ,(p+K)Z_(i)] bits 1804 are transmitted. In a first re-transmission 1806[O (1)+1, . . . , O(1)+(K+p)Z_(i)] bits 1808 are transmitted. In asecond re-transmission 1810 [O (2)+1, . . . , O(2)+(K+p)Z_(i)] bits 1812are transmitted. In a third re-transmission 1814 [O (3)+1, . . . ,O(3)+(K+p)Z_(i) mod buff size] bits 1816 are transmitted. O(1), O(2), .. . represent the offsets for each re-transmission. The offsets may be afunction of the lifting value Z_(i) and redundancy version identifier(RVid), or the like. It should be noted that a circular buffer may beapplied here.

FIG. 19 illustrates a method 1900 for using a different starting pointfrom the coded block with some systematic bits punctured. In firsttransmission 1902 [1, . . . , (p+K)Z_(i)+X] bits 1904 with X systematicbits 1906 punctured are transmitted. In a first re-transmission 1908 [O(1)+1, . . . , O(1)+(K+p)Z_(i)] bits 1910 are transmitted. In a secondre-transmission 1910 [O (2)+1, . . . , O(2)+(K+p)Z_(i)] bits 1912 aretransmitted. In a third re-transmission 1914 [O (3)+1, . . . ,O(3)+(K+p)Z_(i) mod buff size] bits are transmitted. O(1), O(2),represent the offset for each re-transmission. The offsets may be afunction of lifting value Z_(i) and RVid, or the like. A circular buffermay be applicable here as well.

These coded bits are then interleaved/modulated. At the transmitter,HARQ-IR operations may be similar to those of an LTE/LTE-Aturbo-encoder. However, the receiver process is different.

Unlike turbo codes used in LTE systems, where the mother code rate isfixed to 1/3, the disclosed method for LDPC codes is flexible withrespect to the mother code rate. For example, the mother code rate mayhave a range of 1/5 to 8/9. This mother code rate may depend on the dataQoS (e.g., throughput, latency requirements), channel conditions,ACK/NACK statistics, and actual coding rates etc. It is possible that atlow coding rates, the Chase Combining has a good performance, and hence,lower coding rates are not needed. At high coding rates, the IncrementalRedundancy has good performance, and hence, the mother code rate mayneed to be made lower.

The transmitter may pass the mother code rate to the receiver, and mayadjust the mother code rate periodically or a mother code rateadjustment may be event triggered. It should be noted that the mothercode rate can be described by the value of p_(harq), as the resultingcoding rate is

$\frac{K}{K + p_{harq}}.$

This value of p_(harq) may be sent from eNB to a WTRU in a DCIinformation transmission. In the uplink direction, the value of p_(harq)may be sent from a WTRU to an eNB in UCI information. Also, the liftingsize Z_(i) may be another parameter to be synchronized betweentransmitter and receiver.

FIG. 20 illustrates an LDPC encoding process with HARQ support 2000. Anumber of resource elements or a transport block size may be determined2002 along with an applicable modulation and coding rate. The number ofLDPC encoding operations C and the lifting size Z_(i) may further bedetermined 2004. The determined transport block size may be designated2006 for use in segmentation and CRC attachment 2008 and may be used incalculating Z_(i). From a family of protographs 2010, submatrices ofprotographs may be determined 2012, based on the mother code ratep_(harq). Final parity check matrices H may be computed 2014 for use inencoding 2016.

Upon receiving a TB with an attached CRC 2018, the TB is segmented 2008and passed to an LDPC encoder 2016 for encoding. Bit selection 2018 maybe performed in accordance with FIGS. 14-19 or as in any methoddisclosed herein.

FIG. 21 illustrates an LDPC decoding process 2100. At the receiver,parameters 2102 including a number of allocated RE; modulation index;coding rate R or parity length p may be used to calculate 2104 Z_(i)(and/or Z_(j)) and C. Based on submatrices of protographs based onp_(harq) 2106 and a family of protographs 2108, the parity checkmatrices H may be computed 2110. Code-block segments are received fromdemodulator/deinterleaver. For the first RV, the initial submatrices ofH are generated 2112. These are much smaller parity matrices than thoseused at transmitter as these are using only few parity bits. If thedecoding for the first RV is not successful, the received data is savedin a HARQ buffer. Each additionally received RV is combined with theprevious RV's, which was stored in HARQ buffer, before sending to theLDPC decoder 2114. This results in higher number of parity bits, whichresults in larger parity check matrices. Hence, for each additionallyreceived RV, the parity check matrices are augmented with thecorresponding number of rows and columns. The resulting parity checkmatrices are for incrementally reduced coding rates.

Code-block segments are decoded without de-puncturing with a paritycheck matrix. If any code-block segment had repetition (to accommodatethe last few bits of segments) they are combined appropriately.Min-sum/sum-product/any belief propagation iterative algorithm may beused here. In case of decoding error, the newly received RV is stored inHARQ buffer. If CRC is attached in each code-block, it may be used toperform early detection and stopping of the decoded code-block segment.Once all the code-block segments are decoded successfully, they may becombined together and bit collected 2116 to create the receivedtransport-block to send to upper layers.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart which illustrates a method 2200 for transmittingdata using LDPC and HARQ-IR. The method comprises selecting a protographmatrix from a family of protographs 2202. An initial code rate,information block size, a maximum retransmission count and a maximumnumber of redundancy versions may be determined 2204. A protographsub-matrix may be selected to support HARQ-IR, based on one or more ofthe initial code rate, information block size, maximum retransmissioncount and maximum number of redundancy versions 2206. By supportingHARQ-IR, the protograph sub-matrix may be either an initial protographsub-matrix for a first transmission or a subsequent protographsub-matrix which includes redundant information from a first or previoustransmission. A parity check matrix may then be determined based on theselected protograph sub-matrix 2208. Code blocks may be received forencoding by higher layers 2210. The code blocks may be segmented forencoding 2212. In an embodiment, segmenting a code block may be based ona transport block size, a number of RE, a modulation order, a maximumlifting size and a protograph matrix dimension. If multiple segments areencoded 2214, segmenting identical or different code block sizes,corresponding to identical or different lifting size may be performed.Segmenting may further comprise using at least one of zero-padding,shortening or repetition operations 2216. A data block may be encodedusing LDPC, based on the parity check matrix which is based on a liftingsize determined based on a number of RE, a modulation order, a codingrate and a protograph matrix dimension 2218. The encoding may furthercomprise using a bit selection scheme for transmission, including atleast one of a circular buffer for retransmission data selection, withor without systematic bits puncturing. Finally, the LDPC encoded datablock may be transmitted 2220. In the case of a retransmission, acircular buffer may be employed for data selection 2222. The selecteddata may then be retransmitted 2224.

Although features and elements are described above in particularcombinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that eachfeature or element can be used alone or in any combination with theother features and elements. In addition, the methods described hereinmay be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmwareincorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computeror processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronicsignals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) andcomputer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storagemedia include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), arandom access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductormemory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removabledisks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks,and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association withsoftware may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for usein a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

1.-20. (canceled)
 21. A method for transmitting data using one or morelow density parity check (LDPC) codes, the method comprising: selectinga base graph and a lifting size; lifting the base graph based on thelifting size; encoding a sequence of bits based on the lifted graph;writing the sequence of encoded bits into a circular buffer;transmitting a first portion of the sequence of encoded bits, whereinthe first portion is selected based on a first redundancy version; andtransmitting a second portion of the sequence of encoded bits, whereinthe second portion is selected based on the lifting size and a secondredundancy version; wherein the first redundancy version and the secondredundancy version are different redundancy versions.
 22. The method ofclaim 21, further comprising: transmitting a third portion of thesequence of encoded bits, wherein the third portion is selected based onthe lifting size and a third redundancy version.
 23. The method of claim22, further comprising: transmitting a fourth portion of the sequence ofencoded bits, wherein the fourth portion is selected based on thelifting size and a fourth redundancy version.
 24. The method of claim21, wherein lifting the base graph comprises replacing 0 values of thebase graph with an all zero matrix and replacing 1 values of the basegraph with a circular permutation matrix.
 25. The method of claim 23,wherein the first redundancy version, the second redundancy version, thethird redundancy version and the fourth redundancy version are differentredundancy versions.
 26. The method of claim 21, wherein the secondredundancy version is indicated, by a next generation Node B (gNB), viadownlink control information (DCI).
 27. The method of claim 21, whereinthe lifting size is based on the second redundancy version.
 28. Themethod of claim 23, wherein the first portion, the second portion, thethird portion and the fourth portion are different portions of thesequence of encoded bits.
 29. The method of claim 23, wherein the firstportion, the second portion, the third portion and the fourth portionare overlapping portions of the sequence of encoded bits.
 30. The methodof claim 21, wherein encoding the sequence of bits comprises LDPCencoding the sequence of bits.
 31. A wireless transmit/receive unit(WTRU) configured to transmit data using one or more low density paritycheck (LDPC) codes, the WTRU comprising: circuitry configured to selecta base graph and a lifting size; circuitry configured to lift the basegraph based on the lifting size; an encoder configured to encode asequence of bits based on the lifted graph; a circular buffer configuredto receive the sequence of encoded bits; a transmitter configured totransmit, a first portion of the sequence of encoded bits, wherein thefirst portion is selected based a first redundancy version; and thetransmitter configured to transmit, a second portion of the sequence ofencoded bits, wherein the second portion is selected based on thelifting size and a second redundancy version; wherein the firstredundancy version and the second redundancy version are differentredundancy versions.
 32. The WTRU of claim 31, further comprising: thetransmitter configured to transmit, a third portion of the sequence ofencoded bits, wherein the third portion is selected based on the liftingsize and a third redundancy version.
 33. The WTRU of claim 32, furthercomprising: the transmitter configured to transmit, a fourth portion ofthe sequence of encoded bits, wherein the fourth portion is selectedbased on the lifting size and a fourth redundancy version.
 34. The WTRUof claim 31, wherein the circuitry configured to lift the base graph isconfigured to replace 0 values of the base graph with an all zero matrixand replace 1 values of the base graph with a circular permutationmatrix.
 35. The WTRU of claim 33, wherein the first redundancy version,the second redundancy version, the third redundancy version and thefourth redundancy version are different redundancy versions.
 36. TheWTRU of claim 31, wherein the second redundancy version is indicated, bya next generation Node B (gNB), via downlink control information (DCI).37. The WTRU of claim 31, wherein the lifting size is based on thesecond redundancy version.
 38. The WTRU of claim 33, wherein the firstportion, second portion, third portion and fourth portion are differentportions of the sequence of encoded bits.
 39. The WTRU of claim 33,wherein the first portion, second portion, third portion and fourthportion are overlapping portions.
 40. The WTRU of claim 31, wherein theencoder is an LDPC encoder.